Archive for Joe Simpson

The Geneva Motor Show is the auto industry's only neutral-ground show. It is in Switzerland after all. Why's that important? Well, at the Detroit show it's all about a show of force from the Americans. By contrast Paris is the stomping ground for wild...

This is the McLaren 675LT – which stands for long tail. We don't normally make a point of covering cars that are facelift versions, or new variations in a series, but given how good-looking this McLaren is we had to make an exception. A quick recap...

Audi is now well into the stride of a massive new model offensive. At the Detroit Motor Show back in January we got its flagship SUV, the Q7, while here at the Geneva Motor Show the company has launched the next-generation R8. Come September at the Frankfurt...

This is the Ferrari 488 GTB, the company's mid-engine supercar, which replaces the 458 Italia. Launched at the Geneva Motor Show, the 488 features an evolutionary design but is revolutionary in other areas such as its engine. Most notably, this is one...

When the original Smart launched in 1998, it felt like a momentous occasion in the car world. For perhaps the first time since the original Mini or Fiat 500, here was a car that was genuinely small, ingeniously packaged and seriously useful in a city....

Mas-er-ati. Say it slowly and one of the most beautiful and evocative names in the automotive world sounds even more special. What is it about Italian words? They're enough to make the average Brit go weak at the knees. Maserati has ambitious new plans...

Ask any automotive enthusiast to name a dull car, and there's a fair chance they might name the Passat. But Volkswagen has sold 22 million of the things since 1973, so clearly the gear-heads are missing something. For 2015, there's a new Passat to tempt...

The North American International Auto Show – known locally by its acronym of “NAIAS” or to you and I as the Detroit motorshow – sweeps the entire car industry off to frozen Detroit each January. Increasingly Detroit feels like a sideshow to...

This is VW's latest crossover concept, the Cross Coupe GTE. Shown at the Detroit Auto Show as a proof of concept vision, it hints at the next generation of Volkswagen's crossovers and SUVs. The GTE label – which is the new moniker for high-performance,...

The Audi Q7 was the most important new mainstream production car to be launched at the Detroit Auto Show, joining a growing throng of recently refreshed big SUVs. Given that BMW debuted a new X5 in 2014 (although it looks just like the old one), Volvo...

If the Ford GT was the surprise supercar launch at the Detroit Auto Show, then the Honda NSX (here badged as an Acura, for the North American market) was the one we knew we were going to get. After all, Acura has been showing the NSX in concept version...

There were rumours of a new Ford GT coming, but no one quite predicted the unveil of this striking new production model on the first press day of the North American Auto Show in Detroit. This is the new production-ready Ford GT, which will go on sale...

It’s hard to criticise tech-led culture without appearing anti-progressive. But when it comes to autonomous car design, are we sleep-walking our way into the future? There is something hugely appealing about the driver-less car. Even the most gear-headed...

Every so often a car comes along that causes people to stop and stare. If you're brave enough to drive a new Citroen C4 Cactus, then there's a fair chance that people are going to stare at you. It's a car that looks different; quirky in a way that, arguably,...

Going against the grain is unusual in the automotive world. Standardisation, lowering the risk factor of product failure and making things easy to mass produce is the name of the game. Which is why unusual or new types of car are so rare. When the Renault...

Back in 2005 the Peugeot 107 joined the city car sector just at the right time - offering the combination of cheeky looks, super-low insurance costs and the option of 5-doors - before most rivals had cottoned onto the fact this was what buyers wanted....

Comfort or sporting prowess? It's quandary that every car maker faces when launching a new car, and it seems particularly pertinent when considering the new Mercedes C-Class. It used to be said that stepping into a Mercedes-Benz should lower the driver's...

Up until now, beyond the price differential, one key reason to overlook buying a Mini - beyond its cartoonish design - was the lack of rear doors. And with sales in this market splitting roughly 65/35 in favour of 5-door models, it's clear Mini thinks...

Two weeks before the Paris Motor Show began, Lamborghini sent us a teaser silhouette of its new concept car. Underneath it was written: "How do you improve on perfection? Double it." For reasons that right now seem unclear, we - along with the rest of...

The Audi TT Sportback perhaps qualifies as the major surprise of the Paris Motor Show as it was one of just a few uncertainties to be revealed. Although if you've been following Audi's strategy over recent shows, it should come as no surprise at all....

When is a Freelander not a Freelander? When it's a Discovery Sport. From now on, the Freelander is dead. Instead it's replaced by the Discovery Sport as Land Rover changes the structure of its range, creating a series of sub-brands. So from now on, Discovery...

After making an exuberant entrance in London a couple of weeks back (it was dangled from helicopters, motored up the Thames on a speedboat) we finally get to lay our hands on Jag's long-awaited XE at the Paris Motor Show. It is a rival aimed squarely...

The Mercedes-Benz AMG GT was originally shown at a private event in Stuttgart, but the first public chance to see the car is at the Paris Motor Show 2014. The GT is significant because it effectively replaces the gulwing-door SLS and becomes Mercedes-Benz's...

Create a legend and it creates a rod for its own back. The BMW M3 is one such legend and with every new version you'll hear the same complaints: "It's moved too far away from the original concept." "It's too heavy." "It's got the wrong number of cylinders."...